Store

Where's my stuff?

Filmmakers report using fragile media – DVD, VHS or miniDV tape – to store footage, and are motivated to find more secure storage because of previous experience with data loss or hardware failure. Tape and DVD are fragile media because they are susceptible to physical damage and digital decay. M-disc is the only known storage system that reliably retains data for more than 10 years.

A mere 8 percent of independent filmmakers reported migrating their materials from older to new storage devices in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 2012 survey – more than 60 percent did not migrate at all.

Purchasing new camera or computer equipment also introduces more variety into personal archives. When selecting new equipment, ensure that external ports (USB, firewire) are included to connect your existing external hard drives, scanners, cameras and audio equipment. Keep the wires/cords for your equipment when you change hardware and purchase duplicates for unique or special equipment.

Recommendations:

• Fragile media are useful for temporary access or sharing, but not for long-term reliability.

• Don’t depend on rewritable DVDs or external hard drives for archival storage, or to “back up” original footage.

• Operate local storage media every two months.

• Replace local storage media every two years.

• Invest in M-disc burner for your original production and raw footage archives.

• Ensure that local storage devices can connect to new equipment.

• Keep connectors and wires.